In addition to providing an opportunity for all children in Sudbury to play soccer, we encourage our players (and parents) to experience soccer as a referee. Starting this season, Mike Donawitz will take the role of Director of Referees and Referee Development. Mike will work with Alfonso Canella and Sandy Moore to improve the existing program through additional referee training and mentoring programs. The goal is to develop a passion for the game through giving back as a referee. If you had an interest in becoming a referee, click here for more information New Referees Information

Updated Coaching Curriculum

In a continuous effort to improve the coaching manuals, Ross has spent the winter developing animations for each exercise. Now coaches can see the training exercises come to life through the technology provided by CoachFX. As always, please reach out to Ross or Kevin with any questions about the manuals. We spend a significant effort to provide these and we want the training to be successful. Please download your updated manual here Coaching Guides

Season Opener in April — Snow Kidding

Springtime in Sudbury is always a mixed bag. With temps ranging from 15 to 55 last week, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Park and Rec have informed us that once the snow melts, we still need the fields to dry. This not only allows the truck to deliver the goals, but also enables the turf to get a firm hold. Strong roots are very important given how many activities per week we ask of the fields. We will continue to work with Park and Rec to get the season going as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience.

Events with the Revs and Breakers

Save the dates to catch Professional Soccer with SYSA

This Spring, SYSA is coordinating game events with both the Boston Breakers and the NE Revolution. The Breakers return to Harvard stadium and SYSA is a proud youth partner with the team. SYSA night at the Breakers will be Sunday May 18th vs the Chicago Red Stars. Our partnership with the NE Revolution continues to grow as well. SYSA night with the Revs will be on Sunday June 8th vs the NY Red Bulls. There is also an opportunity to hold 3v3 games at the Rev's Field House before the game. Check out the SYSA website for more information and how to order tickets. In addition, we will be announcing pro player visits from both teams in the next couple weeks.

As ref, you hear it all

By Mike Woitalla, executive editor at socceramerica.com

"Why is it a goal kick when she kicked it out?" — is what an 8-year-old asked me.

It's amazing how many things can go through your mind in a couple of seconds. I actually had that "No TiVo!" jolt you get when watching TV in a hotel. And I contemplated several responses.

Change the call because she certainly seemed honest.

Ask the other girl whether it was true that she had touched the ball last.

I even thought about, "I probably messed up but I can't change the call now. Let this be a lesson that life's not always fair."

Ultimately, I pointed again to the goal area and ran away.

This age group doesn't use ARs. I had been looking across the field for potential offside so my eyes were off the ball when it was kicked out. An honest mistake, but a preventable one.

Had I just waited before pointing to the goal area, the girl would have fetched the ball to take the corner kick and no one would have known I missed the play.

But this is within the first month of my returning to refereeing, which as a teenager long ago provided me with a good amount of spending money over four years.

Reffing now has been an especially intriguing experience. Humbling, for sure, as it reminds one how difficult it is for a ref to go through an entire game without making a mistake or two. But also because for years I've been a coach, on the other sideline pretty much out of earshot of the parental noise. As a ref, you hear it all -- from all coaches and all the parents.

And it's as if the players are pieces in an adults' chess game.

On the parent's side, the obnoxious yelling — "Shoot!"... "Pass!"... "Take it!"... — comes from both the dads and moms. If they think they're just cheering they need to watch a video of themselves.

More than half the coaches do play-by-play instruction. Seriously — they shout directions throughout the entire game.

The tolerance of the children blows my mind. What would you do if your boss hovered over your desk and told you how to handle every task?

To be clear, I've not had a single parent or coach scream or direct any criticism at me. Even if I had made an outrageous blunder I doubt any of the adults would have protested during the games I've done so far. They thank you before and after the game and the vibe I got was that they appreciate and respect refs.

But that it's not their place to interfere in their children's play escapes them. They'd probably claim good intentions, believing they're encouraging and helping. If only they listened to themselves and thought about it.

For example, an 8-year-old goalkeeper bends down to block a hard shot and the ball bounces wide. She bats at the high ball that followed. She gets her hands on the next shot, but it's too sharp for her to snag. An opponent scores on the rebound as the little keeper dives but only gets her fingertips on it.

The keeper's father yells at her, as she sadly pulls the ball out of the net, "You gotta hold on to it!"

And once again I'm amazed at what children put up with on the soccer field.

Mike Woitalla, the executive editor of Soccer America, is co-author, with Tim Mulqueen, of The Complete Soccer Goalkeeper and co-author with Claudio Reyna of More Than Goals: The Journey from Backyard Games to World Cup Competition. Woitalla's youth soccer articles are archived atYouthSoccerFun.com.